Personal journey, nature and globe trekking

crystal ball

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We were flying over the Atlantic. It was dark outside, and everyone on our giant plane was either on their third movie or passed out. A perfect time to hit mental “reset” button after a couple of free Heinekens and wake up at the new destination ready to embark on a new path.

“If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?” I asked a guy sitting next to me.

“You know, it’s complicated. We wouldn’t be able to afford it, and the job is already taken, and the person who could get me that job is in the coma or something like that, so it would never work anyway,” he said.

“But setting all that aside, what would you do?”

“I’d …” and then he started telling me a story filled with film premiers, smells of freshly baked cookies and popcorn, and Facebook fans, and creative ways of helping his business grow, and the excitement of being part of something bigger than himself.

Together, we were watching a movie of his future life.

A friend of mine, a best-selling writer, says that our realities are shaped by the stories we tell. If we keep telling the same story of despair and problems, all it does is tells the universe that this is cool and we want more. So it’s happy to oblige.

On the other hand, when we start seeing and feeling and smelling the pictures that make us happy, the universe has no choice but to do the same thing – make it happen.

But here’s the caveat. Obsessing about it puts the object of our affection further away. It’s like the universe wants to prove to us that we’ll be OK either way. So as my friend says, “The law of attraction is subtle.” He would know.

What can we do about waking up at a new destination and liking what we see? Start telling better stories.